Score Big at Anime Expo 2023 with 'The First Slam Dunk' Premiere

As Anime Expo 2023 approaches, fans are eagerly anticipating the biggest event in the anime calendar. Making the convention even more exciting is the announcement of a major film premiere. The First Slam Dunk, a 2022 anime feature based on the popular manga by Takehiko Inoue and its 1993 TV anime adaptation, is set to debut on July 3rd at the convention. For those who love sports anime, this premiere is surely the highlight of the event.

Produced by Toei Animation and distributed in North America by GKIDS, The First Slam Dunk has already enjoyed a hugely successful international theatrical run. With the manga's creator directing the film, it promises to bring a fresh new perspective to the iconic series.

The film has already broken records in various international markets, becoming one of the highest grossing anime features of all time in Japan and the second highest grossing film of 2023 in South Korea. It has also enjoyed strong popularity in China. Plans for a wider theatrical release are currently being finalized, and GKIDS has released a teaser trailer for the North American audience.

Despite not reaching the same level of popularity in the United States as more fantastical shonen franchises like Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon during the American anime and manga boom of the 1990s, Slam Dunk was a massive phenomenon in Japan. The series ran for an impressive six years from 1990 to 1996 in the famous Japanese weekly manga anthology Shonen Jump, with the run from 1993 onward coinciding with a 101-episode anime from Toei Animation. In tankobon format, the manga has sold over 170 million copies worldwide. Slam Dunk's success was so significant that in 2010, the Japanese Basketball Association recognized Inoue with a commendation for the manga's impact on popularizing basketball in the country.

Toei has confirmed that there will be a special tie-in for the first attendees of the Anime Expo premiere, with a convention-exclusive booklet containing concept art and information on the movie and franchise. There are only 2,500 of these con-exclusive booklets being printed, and with the convention regularly seeing 100,000 attendees over its four-day duration, fans may want to act quickly to secure one. For sports anime fans and those interested in the return of an iconic retro property, the premiere of The First Slam Dunk is set to be a major highlight of anime's biggest yearly event.